Noise Cancelling Headphones Are Not Just A Travel Accessory - They're A Travel Necessity

There is unwanted noise all around us. Without Noise cancelling headphones, there is no escaping it.

There's engine and air noise on planes, blaring sounds of city streets, noisy air conditioners, unwanted noise in the office and endless lawn equipment noise at home.

These constant sounds can cause fatigue and sap your energy.

If you've ever enjoyed the effects of a good noise cancelling headphone, you know that it's possible to "slip on some quiet" and have a reprieve form all that unwanted noise.

Once you use a quality noise cancelling headphone, you'll wonder how you've ever gotten by without any. The first time I ever tied noise canceling headphones, I was astonished by how well they worked.

Hi, I'm Pilot Paul, Captain at a major airline. I've been using noise cancelling headphones for over a decade.

At my airline, we bring along an additional pilot on long flights. This allows us to take turns and have a rest break. That way we always have fresh, alert pilots at the controls. We have use of a first class seat for this extremely important rest.

My airline provides a noise cancelling headphone for each first class passenger to use. They love them, and don't want to give them back at the end of the flight.

One of the main reasons that I'm able to rest and sleep during my important rest breaks is the noise cancelling headphones.

If you are interested in my complete article which gives you many tips on sleeping well on planes, please visit: www.pilot-pauls-travel-accessories.com/travel-comfort.html

What's Special About Noise Cancelling Headphones?

Unlike regular headphones, noise cancelling headphones do double-duty. They reduce noise in two ways:

* Passively- They have comfortable, insulated ear cups that block a lot of outside noise.

* Actively- They electronically cancel out sound waves. They do this by picking up a sound, processing it, and then creating a new sound that effectively cancels the original sound. They work best on loud, monotonous sounds like the rushing air in airplane cabins or engine noise.

These two methods combine to reduce unwanted noise. When you use these, you'll experience a noticeable quiet. This is very relaxing and once you've used these, you'll wonder how you ever survived without them.

What You Can Expect From A Good Noise Cancelling Headphone

While lessening all sounds, noise cancelling headphones best reduce persistent, droning background noises. They're best at reducing sounds like engine and air noise, traffic, the background noise at your office, your neighbor's lawnmower.

If you wear these at home (as I often do), and your child screams, you'll still hear that. This can be either good or bad, depending on your perspective.

When you first put on noise canceling headphones, you'll initially notice the passive effect- all noises are reduced by the comfortable, padded, insulated ear cups.

Then switch on the active cancellation to eliminate the droning sounds. You might not immediately think it's a huge improvement- but wait about ten minutes.

You brain has the capability to disregard many background noises. They still are present and cause fatigue, but you become unaware of them. During the ten minutes, your brain will discontinue blocking these sounds from your consciousness.

If you take them off after the ten minutes, you'll be amazed by the amount of noise they had been cancelling. These headphones can be used as regular headphones for listening to the plane's audio system, movies, or any other sound device. With these, everything will sound even better because much of the background noise is cut out. This will create new levels of listening enjoyment for you.

With a good noise canceling headphone, you'll also be able to listen to recordings or movies at a much lower volume. There's no competition with the background noise. That's good for your hearing.

I frequently use noise canceling headphones with a portable CD or cassette player. I'll leave the volume set and later use regular headphones. The volume setting I used with my noise cancelling headphones was so low that when I switched to regular headphones, I couldn't hear anything.

You can also use noise canceling headphones by themselves without external audio to make your world much quieter.

Noise canceling headphones are helpful for resting and solitude. That's because wearing them signals the people around you that you want to be left alone. If you're worried about that over-talkative person in the seat next to you, putting these on can be a great way to discourage them from initiating conversation.

Noise canceling headphones are so effective at reducing noise fatigue that many pilots use them in-flight. Headphones with this technology are great for in-flight radio communications in noisy, propeller-driven airplanes.

Warning! Once you've tried these there's no turning back. You'll be hooked on them and will want to use them regularly.

What Makes One Noise Cancelling Headphone Different From The Rest and Why Do The Prices Vary So Much?

If you've ever seem ads or displays for noise cancelling headphones, you've likely wondered why the prices vary so much.

I've used two different noise cancelling headphones extensively, and had the chance to try several others for extended periods.

With that experience, I've found two different noise cancelling headphones best suited for all-around use.

There are many on the market, but these two stand out. One is expensive but worth it, and the other is surprisingly less expensive than many others.

I've also found the best places to get each of these.

For a complete review of these as well as more information about noise cancelling headphones, please go to: www.pilot-pauls-travel-accessories.com/noise-cancelling-headphones.html

Copyright 2005 by Ph.Developments USA, Inc. All rights reserved.

Pilot Paul M. is a captain at a major U.S. airline. He also hosts http://www.Pilot-Pauls-Travel-Accessories.com where an airline captain helps you with your travel needs.

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Thanks and have a great trip!

Pilot Paul M.